Three Key Benefits of the K6PM Thermal Condition Monitor

July 20, 2020

 Industrial control panels are a leading cause of electrical fires, which could specifically arise from loose connections due to excessive vibration, wiring insulation breakdown, contactor overheating, or another cause. In addition to the possibility of bodily injury, fires can result in more widespread equipment failure and costly unplanned downtime. 

To prevent control panels from developing hot spots that could result in fires, it’s important to continuously monitor your equipment. At Omron, we’ve developed several solutions for around-the-clock equipment monitoring, one of which is the K6PM thermal condition monitor.

Let’s take a look at several ways in which the K6PM can save you time and money.

1. It helps you respond more quickly to thermal-related equipment issues.

Many manufacturers rely on manual thermal inspections that are performed at regular intervals. Unfortunately, this can cause them to miss warning signs that arise between inspection dates. By providing 24/7 thermal monitoring, the K6PM helps end-users detect hot spots more quickly and respond to issues as soon as they appear.

The K6PM controller uses 31 thermal image sensors to monitor a large area of critical components and is equipped with transistor outputs that can be wired to stack lights that will notify the personnel of an increased thermal condition. 

2. It improves worker safety by monitoring at a safe distance.

Since the K6PM makes regularly scheduled manual inspections unnecessary, it reduces the number of instances in which a maintenance worker must work in high-voltage areas, such as those typical of utility plants, wastewater plants, power generation equipment, data centers and battery testing equipment.

With EtherNet/IP and Modbus TCP communications that allow end-users to monitor equipment remotely, the K6PM is a key to improving worker safety in addition to helping manufacturers allocate maintenance needs in a more efficient way.

3. It reduces maintenance costs by eliminating the need for manual thermal inspections.

Manual inspections aren’t just inefficient when it comes to detecting potential thermal issues in a timely manner. They’re also much more expensive. Some thermal inspection services may cost upwards of $2000 depending on the number of panels being serviced. Implementing the K6PM makes most of these inspection services unnecessary.

Furthermore, a lack of continuous monitoring also creates a situation in which manufacturers may feel a need to replace equipment before the culmination of a component’s service life in order to avoid failures before the next scheduled inspection. With the K6PM, manufacturers can avoid the cost of replacing equipment prematurely.

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